Video 8 and the higher performance version Hi8, were much the most
popular
type of camcorder sold right the way through the 1990's and were
available until
about 2010. Picture and sound quality is very good, and at best
can be
outstanding. Since the 8mm tape is completely different to VHS,
no Video8
or Hi8 to VHS adaptor could ever exist, we need to play these tapes on
the
appropriate equipment.

You have come to the right place for your Video8 and Hi8 to DVD
transfers, video99 has simply the best 8mm video equipment. I
can transfer your camcorder tapes to DVD with brilliant pictures and
sound,
using my semi-professional Hi8 edit systems costing well over £1000
each.
The signals are processed through a Digital Timebase Corrector to
remove any
flutter and wobble, and get the benefit of a digital dropout
compensator in my
players. Then the video signals are handled in S-Video form for
the
ultimate in colour performance, to my DVD recorder or computer system
where it is recorded
to DVD with outstanding picture and HiFi stereo sound. I can also
deal
with PCM digital audio recording tracks (most people can't do
this). What all this means is that the
results will be much better than you can get by just playing the tape
in a
camcorder. I've had cases of customers coming to me after other
video
transfer companies were unable to handle LP recordings and
international
recordings, but video99.co.uk won't
let you down.

Hi8 camcorders from 1998 onwards may include Hi8-XR (Extended
Resolution)
technology with suitable XR tapes. If your tapes are recorded
with this
feature, let me know since I will make a point of selecting appropriate
equipment to get the very best from your recordings.

One of several identical
Semi-professional Video 8 / Hi8 edit decks used for copying camcorder
tapes to
DVD.

Basic Menu, £12: Up to 2:30 hours on one DVD, but most
camcorder
tapes are only 90 minutes which fits nicely. The menus
are limited to just a title, but you get a chapter point every 5
minutes so it
is easy to move around the DVD. Extra copies of these DVDs cost
just
£3.50 each and are recommended.

Deluxe Menu £18: Up to 1:30 hours on one DVD, so most
camcorder
tapes fit in one go. Nice menu icons showing what is on that part
of the
recording, and if you
email me with titles I will put them on the DVD for you
too. I place the chapter breaks at points of interest or new
recordings. These menus look like professionally recorded DVD
films.
Extra copies are very cheap, just £2.50 each, and well worth
taking.

Tape type

Running times (maximum)

Video 8 or Hi8 MP90, ME90

90 minutes SP or 180 minutes LP

Video 8 or Hi8 MP120, ME120

2 hours SP or 4 hours LP

Digital8 on MP90 tape

60 minutes SP or 90 minutes LP

Around the year 2000 a new variant of 8mm video
recording arrived, called Digital8, marketed by Sony and Hitachi.
Camcorders of
this type use standard Hi8 video cassettes, or Digital8 cassettes which
are
essentially the same, to record digital signals of the same type as
other
digital camcorders. The quality is excellent and with suitable
equipment,
it is possible to transfer these recordings to computer or DVD in a completely
digital way,
retaining outstanding performance.

Hitachi Digital8 camcorder.

You can't tell by looking at an 8mm video
cassette whether it has an
analogue Video8 / Hi8 recording on it, or a Digital8 recording. A
clue may be in
the vintage, recordings prior to year 2000 will be analogue, and later
than that
could be either. If you have
only a Video8 or Hi8 camcorder or player, and get a Digital8 tape to
play, you
see a grey screen full of speckles and the
sound will just be a loud buzz. Since I can transfer all of
Video8, Hi8 and Digital8, there will be no problems with any of
them. Some
transfer outfits will get caught out by Digital8 recordings as they
cannot run
them. Furthermore I can handle recordings made on equipment from
around
the world, at no extra expense.

Basic Menu, £12: Up to 2:30 hours on one DVD, but most
camcorder
tapes are only 60-90 minutes which fits nicely. The menus
are limited to just a title, but you get a chapter point every 5
minutes so it
is easy to move around the DVD. Extra copies of these DVDs cost
just
£3.50 each and are recommended.

Deluxe Menu £18: Up to 1:30 hours on one DVD, so
camcorder
tapes usually fit in one go. Nice menu icons showing what is on
that part of the
recording, and if you
email me with titles I will put them on the DVD for you
too. I place the chapter breaks at points of interest or new
recordings. These menus look like professionally recorded DVD
films.
Extra copies are very cheap, just £2.50 each, and well worth
taking.

Also available, Video8/Hi8/Digital8 to MPEG or AVI(DV) files
for your own computer
editing. The price is small quantities is the same as Deluxe
Menu.
For larger quantities of tapes there are good discounts possible.
In
particular, if you would like to transfer Video8, Hi8 or Digital8 to
hard disk, the price
is just £7 per hour using the very high quality DV-AVI file
format. Just email
me for details.

There is a limitation of the Digital8 format: Hi8 or Video8
90 minute tapes record for 60 minutes with the Digital8
format unless LP (long play) is used to extend this to 90
minutes. If LP (long play) mode has been
used using a cheaper Video8 tape, it is possible that the recordings
may not
play so well, occasional blocks and patterns are possible. So far
I've
never experienced this effect on my equipment.

* Note about NTSC recordings (USA television standard): Other
companies
in the UK may say they can run these, but most will get stuck if your
recording
is in Long Play. We have imported Hi8 NTSC equipment from USA for
this
reason and so won't let you down.

How
to request a Video 8 to DVD transfer, Hi8 to DVD or Digital8 to DVD or video files.

If for any reason you get stuck filling out the form, just
email me and I'll
help you personally. It's a personal service I offer, not
like some
of the big video editing houses. I understand
that in many cases you will not be
able to tell how much material is on the original recordings.In which case, assume that the tapes are fairly full and send
payment
accordingly, I will refund any surplus by means of a cheque sent with
your
finished recordings.

If you
want your tapes back after you have
the copies (recommended):

Not
everyone
needs their tapes returned once they have the transfers, but I do recommend it. For a single video tape in
the UK, this is just
£1.50 For larger quantities, and tapes from outside the UK, I will let
you know.
Ideally can you ensure you send the tapes in a package which is
sufficiently large and robust for me to use to send back your original
tapes. Usually I will send the transfers to you ahead of returning your
tapes, then when you've confirmed you are happy with the work, I will
return your tapes. This way I can help you further if necessary - for
example you can now see you want a different part of a tape transferred
on its own or you want extra copies.

When you receive your tapes back, you may notice that the record tabs
have been
switched to safe. The first thing I do with a tape is make sure that it
cannot be recorded on, so protecting your important recordings.

Mould

All video tapes can develop mould due to poor storage, such as in a
loft, shed or garage. Tapes stored indoors in the UK virtually
never have mould problems, though some foreign climates can be more
hostile to tapes. With large formats like VHS or Beta, the mould
is a nuisance but if it's not too severe then it will peel off the tape
when it is played. But with the very thin tape used in 8mm
cassettes, even the smallest amount of mould will "glue" the tape
together and cause the tape to snap in a distinctive long tear starting
from the top or bottom edge of the tape as it is played. If a
tape has snapped with this long tear along its length, I always know
that it is a mould snap, and simply splicing the damaged tape out will
probably not be enough to make the tape playable, since it will snap
again. Most video transfer businesses will simply give up if
there is any hint of mould on an 8mm tape, but here at video99 we're
not put off so easily. We've developed a technique for clearing
mould from 8mm tapes, but it is a very slow and manual process so it
does add to the cost of transfer. In the case of a tape with
minimal mould build-up, this may be as little as £5 extra on the
transfer cost, but if the tape is very mouldy then it could be around
£30.

If the tape is very mouldy, then furthermore the picture and sound are
adversely affected even if the tape snapping problem can be resolved,
and it can make running the tape very slow and difficult as mouldy
tapes can clog the heads of the players. I can generally
get an idea of just how bad a tape is going to be by visually examining
it, to advise on whether it's worth attempting the process. Fuji
branded tapes seem to be particularly susceptible to mould build-up,
where other brands of tape stored in identical conditions may be almost
perfect.

If you think your 8mm tapes might be affected by mould email
me to discuss it.

TESTIMONIALS

"Colin and the video99 team offered and delivered
fantastic service and met all of my needs with efficiency, whilst
always considering my opinion and keeping me involved.
Max." Five Video8 tapes to D-AVI files on a large USB
stick. 19.12.14

"Thank you for transferring my Hi8 video tapes to a hard
drive. I'm really pleased with the end product. Having the tapes on a
hard drive makes them much more accessible and the process has been
considered, personal, efficient and to a high standard. Thanks
Colin" Hi8 tapes to DV-AVI video files. 07.11.14

"Video99 offered a straightforward, tailored and
hassle-free service for converting my video8 tapes. Colin was extremely
patient and informative at every stage of the process. Originally I
requested DVD copies of the tapes, but on Colin's advice I chose to go
for a digital format instead, for easier editing, sharing and backing
up. Even though I never suggested that I needed the videos converted
within any particular timeframe Colin finished the job extremely
quickly. I'm very happy with the results - nearly all of the footage
came out really well (Colin forewarned me about the few tapes which had
some faults), even tapes filmed in 1990. If it's not already clear
enough, I would highly recommend Video99! Alison" Video8 to video
files for Mac. 03.10.14

"We collected the parcel from the post office Monday and
have just had the opportunity to view some of the video and we are
really impressed. We're so pleased that we sent the camcorder to you
and that you were able to extract the footage - it was really
priceless, and we had effectively written it off until now.
Your service has been amazing, your communication was frequent, fast
and detailed - we knew exactly where the process was at, at all times.
Your service was also incredibly fast, with our response and payment
being the bottleneck. And for you to extract a damaged tape from a
destroyed camcorder that had been sat in storage for almost ten years,
and recover all but a few seconds of video was the cherry on top.
Would we recommend you? We would, and without a moments hesitation.
I don't know if you will use this email as a testimonial, but if you
do, We would simply say to anybody reading it and thinking of using
your service to stop shopping around and fill the form in. A
competitive price, excellent quality, and incredible service.
Thanks Colin. Mark " Video8 tapes to hard disk,
including one which was stuck in a wrecked camcorder. 20.05.14

"Hi colin. Dvds work great thank you. Really
impressed with the service you offer. Professional and speedy.
Will definitely recommend you. .in fact I already have. Kind
regards Carron" Video8 to DVD, 25.04.14

"Colin. I have now been able to review the work you
have done with my 18 tapes and am extremely happy with what you have
achieved in a very fast turnaround. Great work! You have salvaged some
wonderful memories for us and I know my wife will be delighted. I was
particularly impressed with your high quality of customer care and
communication with me. I shall certainly recommend you to friends and
family and to anyone else who reads this on your website. Barry"
28.01.13 VHS, Video8 and miniDV tapes to video files on hard disk.

"Video99 provide an excellent service. Thorough and
technically brilliant, Colin managed to rescue my footage which I
thought to be wrecked, and provided an excellent email communication
through out the service; super quick, patient and friendly in his
responses and explanations. I will certainly be returning and shall
wholly recommend Video99 to all my family, friends and professionals!"
- John Turrell, filmmaker/videographer Video8/Digital8 tapes to hard disk. Name used with permission.

"I worked for 30 years in the graphic design industry and
used a host of third-party firms for related technical services; I can
honestly say that in all those years I never worked with a more
responsive, helpful, thorough or efficient company than video99.
Adrian" Video8 tapes to DV-AVI files for Mac user. 09.01.14

"Absolutely fantastic service, very knowledgeable, very
reasonable price, amazingly quick service and will definitely use again
myself and recommend to family and friends. Many thanks, Alan".
Video8 tapes to DV-AVI video files for use with PC. 27.11.13

'Another great job – transfer of Hi8 video from tape to
digital media. No matter how small the task, Colin excels through
efficient service always offering helpful advice and options. Kind
regards,Richard' Video8/Hi8 tapes to DV-AVI files. 06.11.13

"Hi Colin, I've received and checked all the discs and
hard drive. They are all fine. Thank you SO much for all your hard
work. You've done an excellent job. I know it was a lot of tapes but
you've produced a lovely series of discs. I would recommend tour
services to anyone. Speedy, excellent quality and plenty of
communication. Thanks so much Best wishesNick" Video8 tapes
to both DVD and DV-AVI files on hard disk. 31.10.13

" I also wanted you to know how much I’ve appreciated
your help, your professionalism and the excellent job you have done
with my video media. I’m thrilled to have the files on digital
now and you’ve made the whole process easy and worry-free. I will
definitely be recommending you to friends and family! Thanks so
much,~Laura" Video8 and VHS tapes to DV-AVI files on hard disk. 26.10.13

" I am a repeat customer and each time I have been
extremely happy with both the quality and speed of service. I always
feel I have left my memories in trustworthy and professional hands.
Cosi" Video8 tapes to video files for Mac. 26.06.13

"I shipped 23 hi-8 tapes
and 20 Mini DV tapes along with a 2Tb harddrive to put the videofiles
on, from Norway to this company in England. I took the chance...
Imagine sending THE most precious and valuable family memories you an
think of, with no backup at hand(I did'nt have a copy at home), abroad
to a foreign company... Wow.. Breathtaking! I was truly nervous. The
result proved me wrong.
Communication beforehand was excellent. There were E-mails back and
forth, clarifying all sorts of questions I had. Can we ask for more?
No!
I got a message stating that the tapes were runnig now, and my
harddrive with all the data on it, was shipped immediately aferwards.
Can we ask for more? No!
What about the quality? I did'nt expect too much from these 18 year old
tapes, but guess what, I was surprised by the quality. I got more than
expected. The economy in this project... Well... My time is valuable,
and all the hazzle Iv've already had trying to capture this footage...
Man... I wish I knew about video99 before I tried doing it myself.
Value for money is unbeatable, especially if compared with with overall
quality of the work. I am senior consultant within the CAD business,
and I expected to be able to do this myself. I have never in my life
been more beaten up professionally. Hat's off.. I updated my Facebook
status with this story, and my friends immediately hit me with lots of
questions. This company can expect more tapes from Norway. Thanks for
saving my precious family memories, I got misty eyes looking through my
footage, and it was embarrassing having my wife and teenagers around.
regards Tor" Hi8 tapes to video files for customer in Norway,
13.06.13

"Colin - your advice on what to do was invaluable, your
many communications clear and welcome and the production was
swift. 10 out of 10 for expertise and all round service!
Chris" Video8 tapes to DVD, 04.06.13

"Hi Colin Got the hard drive today and must
say it’s great to see the videos again. We have not seen most of
this footage for over ten years and spent all afternoon going through
the video files. Thanks for recovering so many of the tapes recorded
with the faulty camcorder. I have another hard drive already to
make a backup as you suggested. Once again, thank you for going
the extra mile and keeping me informed of progress, your service is
excellent and I will recommend video99 to my friends. Regards
Nick" Video8 tapes to hard disk. Several had been recorded on a
camcorder which was out of alignment, so I set up a player to "match"
the defective recordings and so recover the tapes which would otherwise
have been lost. 23.05.13

"Thank you very much for your fantanstic service. It
was great that you kept me informed throughout the whole process and I
was pleasantly surprised how quickly my DVD's arrived in the post. I
shall definately be using your service again and recommending you to
family and friends. All the best. Malik" Video8 to DVD with extra
copies, 24.04.13

"I happened to come across Video99 via a well known
search engine and was encouraged to make use of their services as a
result of reading the testimonials left by previous customers. I am
extremely glad that I did. The owner 'Colin McCormick' could not have
been any more helpful or professional with my request which was to
transfer 10 Video 8 tapes to DVD format. He also transferred the
content of the old tapes onto DV-AVI files which will allow me to edit
the content at some stage in the future. The entire process, including
postage both ways, was completed in a matter of days and the end result
was absolutely fantastic. I would certainly recommend Video99 to anyone
seeking an efficient and quality service. Len" 19.04.13

" For quite a few years I'd been worrying about
what to do about a precious collection of family videos. I wanted to
get them onto DVD, but did not have the equipment or skill to do the
best job. Some of them were showing signs of age or had issues such as
cross colour or Hanover bars which needed specialist equipment.
Additionally, I had the usual concerns about treasured tapes getting
lost in the post or damaged or destroyed by an incompetant employee. As
my tapes were Video 8 I was also limited since many video transfer
sevrices didn't offer this option. I stumbled
upon Colin and decided to give video99 a
try. I was immediately impressed by his enthusiasm for the subject and
his knowledge of, and ability to deal with, a vast number of different
tape and video formats. Colin has now transfered a number of tapes for
me. Each one comes out on DVD with far better quality than I could have
expected and his charges are very reasonable. Despite a heavy workload,
Colin appears to take a great deal of care over the process and a lot
of pride in doing a good job. In all, a truly excellent service that I
wouldn't hestitate to recommend unreservedly; and have done so. If only
there were more companies out there like this. Robin." 01.02.13

"I have now had an opportunity to review the Hi8 video
you transferred for me. I am delighted with the result. Overall
you have provided an excellent service.It was clear and authoritative
throughout. The associated reassurance was really important given
that I was entrusting you with the only footage of family members and
events. I would hesitatingly recommend you to anybody with a similar
requirement. Nicholas " Video8 tapes to DV-AVI files for editing
on a Mac.
26.01.13

"I have been very impressed by the speed and
professionalism of your service. It's only 4 days since I posted
my 10 tapes to you and I now have more than 13 hours of video on my
computer. You have answered my questions and kept me informed at
every stage. Happy to recommend you to friends and family.
Many Thanks,John" Video8 tapes to DV-AVI files on hard disk
08.01.13

For older testimonials, hundreds of them, see the archive
of testimonials. We are also listed on the independent Freeindex service, you can read and add to reviews
there

Can I play Video8 or Hi8 tapes on my Digital8 camcorder? Which Digital 8 camcorders play Video8 or Hi8 tapes?

Which Digital8 camcorders support analogue Video8 or Hi8
playback?
I've been asked which Digital8 camcorders play Video8 or Hi8
tapes.
Most, but not all, Sony Digital8 camcorders can also play older
analogue Video8
or Hi8 recordings.
Here is a list I have put together from information collated from user
manuals.
Note that the European models have an E after the model number, whereas
NTSC
market models do not, but otherwise the features are likely to be
similar.
The DCR-TRV350 appears not to have been sold in Europe. Many Sony
European PAL models such as the DCR-TV120E which support analogue
playback, also support NTSC tape playback provided the tape was
recorded in SP (Standard Play) speed. They do not play LP (Long
Play) NTSC recordings, and note that some such as the DCR-TRV310E do
not
support any analogue NTSC playback. The list is supplied as-is
with no responsibility for
errors, and is (c) copyright video99, 2011-2014.

Camcorder Model (Sony unless stated)

Hi8/Video8 playback?

DCR-TRV110E

yes

DCR-TRV120E

yes

DCR-TRV125E

yes

DCR-TRV130E

no

DCR-TRV140E

no

DCR-TRV145E

no

DCR-TRV147E

no

DCR-TRV210E

yes

DCR-TRV230E

yes

DCR-TRV235E

yes

DCR-TRV238E

yes

DCR-TRV239E

yes

DCR-TRV240E

yes

DCR-TRV241E

yes

DCR-TRV245E

no

DCR-TRV250E

no

DCR-TRV255E

no

DCR-TRV265E

no

DCR-TRV270E

no

DCR-TRV285E

no

DCR-TRV310E

yes

DCR-TRV320E

yes

DCR-TRV325E

yes

DCR-TRV330E

yes

DCR-TRV340E

yes

DCR-TRV341E

yes

DCR-TRV345E

yes

DCR-TRV350

yes

DCR-TRV355E

yes

DCR-TRV356E

yes

DCR-TRV410E

yes

DCR-TRV420E

yes

DCR-TRV430E

yes

DCR-TRV460E

yes

DCR-TRV461E

yes

DCR-TRV480E

yes

DCR-TRV510E

yes

DCR-TRV520E

yes

DCR-TRV530E

yes

DCR-TRV620E

yes

DCR-TRV720E

yes

DCR-TRV725E

yes

DCR-TRV730E

yes

DCR-TRV738E

yes

DCR-TRV740E

yes

DCR-TRV820E

yes

DCR-TRV828E

yes

DCR-TRV830E

yes

DCR-TR7000E

yes

DCR-TR7100E

yes

DCR-TR8000E

yes

DCR-TR8100E

yes

Hitachi VM-D865LE

yes

Hitachi VM-D875LE

yes

Hitachi VM-D975LE

yes

(c) Copyright 2011:

video99.co.uk

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